The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John

Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”  (John 14:15-21)

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I read a book written by an ex Jesuit priest.  I don’t know if you know it but the Jesuits are called the soldiers of Christ. In keeping with that reputation, their training, is extremely rigorous

He wrote about the academic and theological learning they did, and what they learned about the history of their order.  All quite normal. 

But he said that at a certain time – and I don’t know if it was everyday – they would go to their dormitory, and each would draw the curtain around his bed, and each man would take out a switch, and would whip himself on the back with this switch.

I am not too sure why they did this. It could be to strengthen them, for any hardships they may face, but I think it was for a more doctrinal reason. There has been  a belief in the church over the centuries that as Jesus suffered, we – if we are to follow him – must suffer also. 

Today’s reading from First Peter  (1 Peter 3:13-22 )  tells us that suffering for your faith is a blessed thing. Peter says that even if you have to suffer for righteous things, then God will bless you.

He was writing to people who had felt the whip – slaves – and others who were ridiculed, or physically harmed because of their beliefs.

And  he wanted to encourage them not to give up. He cites the suffering of Jesus, an innocent person who died for those who are guilty and to bring us closer to our God.

And after suffering torture and death, Jesus was elevated to the highest position in Heaven, and he sits at the right hand of the Father.

Suffering does bring out hidden qualities in people. Quiet unassuming people have become heroes in the midst of suffering. Suffering has been likened in the Bible to gold that is heated in the furnace until the impure ore falls away and only the purest gold remains. It toughens us. It purifies us.   If we can overcome suffering, with God’s help, then surely we will also be rewarded.

If you have lost a loved one. If you have suffered from a painful or disabling illness, if you are taking treatment for cancer, if a child has taken the wrong road in life, if someone you know and love is in pain, then you know what suffering is about.

And if you were to choose – suffering or no suffering, I know which  you would choose – character building or not – no suffering!

The point is though, that as human beings, we will all suffer some pain, sorrow, heartache in our lives. There is no getting away from it. It’s how we handle it that matters.  

George Matheson was born in Glasgow, in 1842. Before he reached the age of two it was discovered that his eyesight was defective. He, his parents, and the specialists fought a heroic fight, but before George had finished his course at Glasgow University, he was completely blind.

With great courage and faith, however, he graduated with honours in philosophy, studied for the ministry, and in a few years time became the minister of one of the largest churches in Scotland. In addition to his laborious preparation for sermons and services, he did a great deal of parish visitation, wrote numerous articles and twelve books, and continued his own studies throughout his life.

Blind!

It must have been heart-breaking for George Matheson’s parents to have a strange infection steal their son’s eyes.  It must have been truly heartbreaking for a young man to lose his sight.  Yet, George Matheson somehow found in that situation that God made resources available to him. God took account of his suffering, and gave him courage, resourcefulness, and grim perseverance, enabling him to be victorious over his handicap.

George took the life he had been given, blindness and all, and gave it back, a life fulfilled, and filled, and one which blessed countless others, both in his writings, in his ministry and in his example.

I am sure that there must have been nights when he cried himself to sleep, when his dark burden seemed too much to bear, and yet, with the help of his Lord, he made it through.

I said that we all have to undergo suffering of some sort. I say that because I know that in my own life (and I count myself to have been blessed to a great degree)  I have encountered suffering.

I say it because in my job I met  people all the time who were struggling with sickness, mental torment, grief disappointment, worry, stress, and so on.

It seems obvious, doesn’t it,  that  suffering is a part of human existence. And if it is, then it must have a purpose.

Imagine life being all rosy, no worries, no problems, nothing to bother you – just day to day – nothing happening in the suffering department.

It really wouldn’t be life, would it? 

I am sorry to say it, but it looks like suffering is something that God could take out of the world, but for some reason doesn’t.

We all know people who have had to put up with the most horrendous situations. Situations that just hearing about bring tears to our eyes. Situations that we wouldn’t want to be a part of, for all the tea in China.

And yet these people come through, and do so with their dignity intact, their sense of being intact, and are somehow  stronger for it.

A man was watching a new butterfly  struggling to exit its cocoon.  He watched for a while, and it appeared to him that  the butterfly was suffering as it wriggled, and squirmed, trying to get out, but making little progress.

Feeling sorry for it, the man took a pair of scissors and tried to help by making a tiny cut in the cocoon, so the butterfly could come out more easily.  It crawled out.

But that is all it ever  did – crawl.

The pressure of the struggle was supposed to push life-giving colorful juices back into the wings, but the man, in his mercy, prevented this. The insect was never anything but a stunted abortion.  It was condemned to spend the rest of its short  life crawling in the dust.

It seems to me that maybe God knows what he is doing.  It seems to me that you can depend on Him. Even when the struggle is hard and meaningless.

The Gospel reading recounts a few moments in that upper room before Jesus was betrayed.  The disciples were panicking. They knew now what Jesus was saying – that he would suffer and die. That he would leave them.

They felt lost.

But Jesus told them, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you orphans. I will send you a helper, a parakletos.”

The Greek word for helper, is parakletos.  A parakletos is someone who is called in to help. It comes from the Latin word fortis, which means brave, and a parakletos was someone who enabled a dispirited, beaten person to be brave.

Their parakletos would bethe Holy Spirit.

Jesus, that night, was setting his disciples a hard task, sending them on a difficult engagement. But they would not be alone, the  parakletos, would  guide them  and enable them  to do what they were tasked with.

Jesus might be saying to us, in this day and age: “Life brings us many difficult times. Coping with them is something that is hard to do. So I am sending you a helper, the parakletos, who will enable you to manage, to make it  through, and to come to the light.”

God in His love and mercy, in His infinite love for us His children, sends us the help we need to make it through the night. 

He doesn’t want us to suffer. He doesn’t want us to have to cope all by ourselves. 

In fact, as George Matheson found out, he wants to be with us in our struggles, and the Spirit he sends will give us the strength we need. .

George Matheson wrote these words after twenty years of blindness.

O Love that will not let me go.

          I rest my weary soul in Thee!

          I give thee back the life I owe,

          That in Thine ocean depths its flow

          May richer fuller be.

He took the life he had been given,  a life that to many would have seemed empty and hopeless, and filled it with triumph.

With the help of  his parakletos – the Holy Spirit.  Am

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

” I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. ( Jn 14:1-14)

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I read something a while ago: A ship had radioed for a  pilot to help make its way through dangerous waters. The pilot who showed up looked no more than sixteen. The ship’s captain  was understandably, a little nervous at turning his ship over to such a young looking pilot – a boy – so he asked the young man,” Do you know where all the dangerous rocks are?” The boy answered, “No sir. But I know where they aren’t.”

And you know, when  a pilot takes a boat through a dangerous waterway, the captain has to turn the boat over to him. And the captain doesn’t look over the pilot’s shoulder, or over the side of the ship, to look for hazards.  He trusts him. The actual path the ship will take is not so important. What is important is that he has placed his ship in the hands of a pilot. 

That’s something that in the church we have gotten kind of mixed up about.

We are Christians and we claim to follow Jesus, but sometimes, we are like a ship’s captain who doubts his pilot, and is constantly worrying about where the rocks are.

The thing is, that with Jesus as our guide, we don’t have to look around every corner, or steal a peak at the road ahead, or worry about what is coming our way.

We just have to follow Him. 

The disciples still hadn’t grasped that truth, even that night before his crucifixion.

Jesus told them not to worry. ‘ I am going to prepare a place for each of you. I will come back and will take you with me.’

Thomas said, “Lord we don’t even know where you are going. How can we know the way?

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Without me no-one can go to the Father.”

Don’t focus on the path. I am the  path – the way – the pilot. Focus on me.

The church needs to remember that!

The truth of this is that because of his sacrifice on the cross, we have access to the Father. We are able to be in a right relationship with God.  That is why Jesus is known as ‘the way.’ 

He is the way to the Father.

Philip still didn’t understand. “Show us the Father. That is all we need.”

Jesus asks,  “Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” 

You see, Jesus came to earth to show us God in himself.  To bring God closer to us.

He said to them, “Have faith in me when I say that the Father and I are one, or, have faith in me because of the things you have seen me do.”

Believe me because of what I say:  Jesus’ spoke with an authority and knowledge that eclipsed that of religious leaders of the time. The truth is, he had inside knowledge. How could he silence critics, scribes, lawyers, who had studied the law, and Israel’s history, and theology, and had high standing as experts? Only someone who knew the mind of the Father could do that.

Believe me because of what I say

Or believe me because of what I do:  the healing of lepers, the giving of sight to the blind, the giving of hearing and words to those without hearing or speech, the giving of life and movement to those whose bodies were paralyzed, the raising of the dead,  the feeding of the five thousand, the stilling of the storm on Lake Galilee, and many other miracles – signs – signs –  that the Father endorsed Jesus as His Son.

His words and his works, evidence the divinity of Jesus the Son. 

And that Jesus is the way, the pilot, to eternal life, and all  we need do is  follow him.  

You know there have been others who put themselves forward as being the way, the end-all-and-be-all. Alexander the Great’s soldiers saw him that way.  He  generated such loyalty in his men that they would do anything for him.

Alexander would ask to meet with the leaders of the city he wanted to take, and he would give them a demonstration of his men’s  unquestioning loyalty.  He would order his soldiers to march forward, straight over a cliff. They did it without question. The city leaders, seeing this unswerving loyalty, knew they could not withstand his army and capitulated right there and then.

For his soldiers, Alexander was the way. No need to ask why or where, or how, they just did as he commanded.

Of course, Alexander didn’t lead them over the cliff. He led them from behind. Isn’t  that always the case with human leaders?

Jesus shows that he is the way by going over the cliff for us, as it were. He shows us sacrificial death. He shows us unconditional love. And in his conquering of death, he shows his divine  power.

Not only that, but he promises his followers that they will have the power to accomplish even more than he did. “You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father, Ask me and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring glory to the Father.”

“Ask me and I will do whatever you ask.”

That doesn’t mean that we can pray that we will win the lottery. Or become a Canadian Idol. Or lose fifty pounds. Or get a better car, or a bigger house. Or be better looking.

It means that whatever we want to do in His Name, and if it is done for the glory of God, then he will help us accomplish it. 

Jesus’ prophecy on this came true. On the day of Pentecost, which we will celebrate soon, Jesus’ disciples,  filled with the Holy Spirit, and burning to carry the Good News of Jesus to the world,  spoke so forcibly to the crowd gathered around them that 3,000 people – three thousand –  decided to make Jesus their pilot, through this world’s tricky waters.

They went on from there until literally thousands, and then later, millions, of people became followers of The Way. Many, many more than the number that Jesus had persuaded to follow him.

 And still today greater things are being done in His Name. There is a church in Texas that has 40,000 members. They have to meet in an arena. It isn’t the only church with massive numbers either.

These churches have wonderful ministries raising money for the underprivileged, providing counseling and spiritual advice, providing legal and financial services for their flock; ministering to the sick and lonely, supporting thousands of the world’s poor overseas, and so on.

Forty thousand in that one church. That’s probably more than all the people who heard Jesus during his three year ministry.

But they didn’t do it by themselves. 

A lot has been accomplished in our little church over the years, and you can be proud of that. There is more to do.  Much more to do, as we witness to our love of Christ to the world outside.

But we make a mistake if we try to do it by ourselves.

Because it just won’t happen.

If we think we can do it without Christ.

I like the story of a little boy who was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. While he was making roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he found a large rock right in the middle of the sandbox. 

He dug around it and managed to dislodge it from the dirt and then exerting himself to the fullest, he pushed and pulled it across the sandbox.  But when he got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.  He shoved, pushed, and pried, and managed to get the rock teetering on the edge, but it tipped and fell back into the sandbox.

The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved again, but all that happened was that the rock fell back once more and mashed his chubby little fingers, and he burst into tears of pain and frustration.

Unknown to the lad, his father had been watching this little drama from the living-room window.  And just when the first tear trickled down the boy’s cheek,  a large shadow fell across  the sandbox. It was the boy’s father.

Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?”   The little boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!

 “No, son,” said his father, “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” 

And dad reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it.  [1]

Think about what you would like to see accomplished by your church. Think about what you would to accomplish in your own life of faith.

The first thing we have to realise is  that we can’t do it alone.

The second thing to remember is that Jesus assured us that if we wanted something that would glorify God. If we wanted something that would further the work of Christ in our life. Then all we have to do is ask. 

That’s the promise.  We have not been left alone.  Not alone.

Amen.

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[1] Bible.Org.Trustworthy Bible Resources.

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to John 10:1-10

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

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Since what has been named the 2026 Iran War, originally ‘ a military operation’

Information – trusted information is scarce. False information is aplenty.

There are many examples of this, including  the original forecast of the expected duration of the war – two to eight weeks, or as some forecast – three to four days.

As of today, no-one knows when the war will end.

Trust has been destroyed, lives lost or ruined, as the duty of care has been discarded like so much trash.

Jesus tells his listeners to be on the look out for those who can’t be trusted –  thieves,  robbers, wolves –  predators. 

Predators!

With so much duplicity in  our world, where do we turn?  To whom do we look?

” At me’  Jesus  says.

”  I am the shepherd. The sheep know my voice. I am the gate for the sheep,” he says, using an example people would understand.

The sheepfold at that time would have only three complete sides. The shepherd would be there, at the fourth side, checking the sheep as they came in, slowing them down with his rod, so he could check them for injuries. And when all were safely in he would lie across the entrance so that anyone wanting to come in to do harm would have to deal with him first. .

The shepherd  had a heavy wooden rod with which to beat off any lion or wolf or bear that might try to attack the sheep. The staff was used to rescue lambs from thickets or crevices where they might have fallen into danger.  The rod was the protection.

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

He might also have a slingshot.

A famous shepherd by the name of David fought off a lion and more with a slingshot, didn’t he?

When you care about your charges, you will fight ferociously to protect them won’t you?

You won’t exploit them.

Who is being a shepherd?

And who is being a wolf?

There are plenty of stories about governments wasting our resources – not safeguarding what belongs to the people.

There are many who are only interested in their own welfare?   Some of those who manage major corporations seem more interested in lining their own pockets rather than worrying about their shareholders, and their employees.  And their customers.

Some who claim to represent us are in the pockets of other interests.

Financial analysts have given so-called independent advice, which later was found to be just a come-on for stocks they were actually selling. 

We should do what Will Rogers suggested when investing.  He said, “ Take your money out of your savings, invest it in a stock, and when it goes up, sell. If it doesn’t go up  – don’t buy it!”

It looks like  no-one is out there looking after you, doesn’t it?

So what do we do?

I think the only answer is to look elsewhere for protection, for guidance, for an example in how to live.

I think you have to look to someone with good references; someone who has proven to be a good friend; someone who has delivered what he promised to deliver; someone who is a good shepherd.

Someone you can follow.

Like Jesus.

The early disciples, and those who joined them chose to follow Jesus. And to live as he would.

We read in Acts that in the early days of the church, no one wanted for anything. The reason was that those who had much, gave so that those who had less could eat.   Those who could, helped those who couldn‘t.  Those who could work helped those who were too sick to work. 

A few years ago, such people would have been called communists  – those who had much, sharing with those who had nothing, and all property held in common.

But it was just that the followers of Jesus were trying to live as he might have.

Simply put, we have to try and live as Jesus did. We have to share with those less fortunate. We have to see that no brother or sister goes hungry.

We have to try each day to be more and more like him; loving others; putting him before wealth and power; and looking after our neighbour rather than preying on him, or her.  

We have to show the world that we are God’s people,  spreading his word where we can, and encouraging and exhorting those in positions of power to serve rather than to exploit.

And if we are chosen to lead, leading as a shepherd would – protecting and watching over those for which we have been given responsibility.

This might sound idealistic.

Naïve.

People  say  you have to look after yourself first, and last.  The wolves are out in front, winning at every turn. Money makes money.  And that is good for everyone they say, even those who somehow don’t get the chance to share. 

It is good that some people are rich and powerful.?  The system somehow takes care of people?  Isn’t that what they say?

Don’t believe it.

In 1923 at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, eight of the most powerful money magnates in the world gathered for a meeting. These eight, if they combined their resources, and their assets, controlled more money than the US Treasury. The group included such men as Charles Schwab. He was the president of a steel company. Richard Whitney was the president of the New York Stock Exchange, and Arthur Cutton was a wheat speculator. Albert Fall was a presidential cabinet member, personally a very wealthy man. Jesse Livermore was the biggest bear on Wall Street in his generation. Leon Fraser was the president of the International Bank of Settlements. Ivan Krueger headed the largest monopoly.

Quite an impressive group of people wouldn’t you agree? .

But take a look at that same group later in life. Charles Schwab died penniless. Richard Whitney spent the rest of his life serving a prison sentence in Sing Sing. Arthur Cutton, the great wheat speculator became insolvent. Albert Fraser, the president of that big international bank? He committed suicide. Seven of those eight great big money magnates had lives that were disasters before they left planet earth.

Where did they go wrong? 

They went wrong by thinking that what they had and controlled actually belonged to them. That they were deservedly gifted with knowledge and power and had no sense of responsibility towards the thousands who depended on them to make good business, and good moral, decisions.

I guess to be charitable towards them we might characterize them as bad shepherds – very bad shepherds.

Jesus is the good shepherd. The one who cares for his sheep.

In fact dies for his sheep.

That’s right –  dies for his sheep!

Jesus died for his sheep!.

He died to save his sheep from dark sinful, shameful, empty lives, and to give them new life, new hope, new reason to live.

He was the only one who could do that. He was the only one with the right credentials.

He didn’t sin.

He did His Father’s will.

 He put us first and himself last. Everything he did was to benefit others.

He spurned riches, spurned power, lived as an itinerant, slept out in the open.

He was what today is called ” a low overhead” sort of guy. 

He wasn’t making off with the company profits; wasn’t making himself rich and others poor.

No, he put himself last.

As should we!